Norman City Council discussed hiring consultants to review the possibility of sending the Rock Creek Entertainment District tax increment financing districts to a public vote and approved a land rezoning in the South Greek area for a condominium development during Tuesday’s meetings.<\/span><\/p>\n Chautauqua Avenue condo developments<\/strong><\/p>\n The news:<\/strong> Council voted to rezone land in the South Greek area for a<\/span> condo development<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n The applicant was seeking to rezone land one block south of Lindsey Street between Chautauqua and College avenues from single and multi-family dwelling districts to a<\/span> simple planned unit development, or SPUD.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n A SPUD is a special zoning district designed to produce unique developments, according to<\/span> the city of Norman<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n The condo development will include 108 units and 109 parking spaces.<\/p>\n Ward 2 Councilmember<\/span> Matthew Peacock<\/span>, who served as the project\u2019s architect, said that after considering input from the surrounding community regarding traffic concerns, there will be no entrances to the condos along Chautauqua Avenue. Instead, entrances will be on College Avenue and Hoover Street only.<\/span><\/p>\n Peacock said that<\/span> Traffic Engineering Consultants, Inc<\/span><\/a> conducted a traffic report and anticipates no traffic-related issues or necessary roadway improvements as a result of the project.<\/span><\/p>\n During the presentation, Peacock said the project is not intended as student housing.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe are being very intentional with the product we are bringing to the market,\u201d Peacock said. \u201cThe idea is these are geared to the person that has outgrown student roommates\u2026 That young professional target we, as the city of Norman, really does a poor job at retaining.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n What they\u2019re saying:<\/strong> Ward 4 resident<\/span> Stephen Ellis<\/span> voiced concern over the development\u2019s location.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt doesn’t seem like someone who had graduated from college and still wanted to enjoy Norman and didn’t want to live in a college area anymore is going to move to basically Greek row,\u201d Ellis said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Doug Bowden<\/span>, a member of the<\/span> University Lutheran Church<\/span><\/a> across the street from the proposed development, shared his congregation’s concerns with stormwater runoff.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe proposed project’s density exceeds any maximum site density allowed, that’s the ratio of total buildings to square footage to land area, creating a very densely populated site,\u201d Bowden said. \u201cThis excessively impervious area will create far greater stormwater runoff than the site has historically experienced.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The vote:<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>Council passed the rezoning unanimously, with Peacock abstaining.<\/span><\/p>\n Council considers hiring consultants for entertainment district TIFS<\/strong><\/p>\n The news:<\/strong> City Attorney<\/span> Rick Knighton<\/span> presented council members with options regarding hiring consultants during a special meeting Tuesday evening. The outside counsel would review steps the city could take to bring the Rock Creek Entertainment District tax increment financing, or TIF, districts to a public vote.<\/span><\/p>\n In February,<\/span> Knighton told council<\/span><\/a> he did not believe the city had the authority to bring a TIF ordinance for the<\/span> Rock Creek Entertainment District<\/span><\/a> to a vote of the people.<\/span><\/p>\n The meeting followed the<\/span> Oklahoma Supreme Court\u2019s ruling<\/span><\/a> that determined the gist of<\/span> Oklahomans for Responsible Economic Development<\/span>\u2019s<\/span><\/a> petition to turn the Rock Creek Entertainment District to a public vote was insufficient.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Knighton said if council wants to hire consultants, then officials need to do a \u201cgood job\u201d of identifying what they want to be counseled on.<\/span><\/p>\n Mayor<\/span> Stephen Tyler Holman<\/span> said he would like consultants to evaluate Knighton’s assessment of the situation, the assessment of legal counsel representing the petitioners and questions council has about the TIF districts.<\/span><\/p>\n What they\u2019re saying:<\/strong> Holman expressed his concerns with hiring outside counsel.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know if it would result in giving council members more comfort about knowing one way or the other,\u201d Holman said.<\/span><\/p>\n City Manager<\/span> Darrel Pyle<\/span> said council could get an opinion without investing time and money.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAt the end of the day, all that matters would be the opinion of the judge,\u201d Pyle said. \u201cYou can get there without the time or the investment in calling a firm and asking.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Ward 8 Councilmember<\/span> Scott Dixon<\/span> suggested letting ORED sue the city to get a judge’s opinion.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThere is no monetary damages to that lawsuit, it just requires a judge to say, you can have an election, or you can’t,\u201d Dixon said. \u201cThat\u2019s a whole lot less risky than us saying we\u2019re just going to undo the ordinance, and then we open up Pandora’s box.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Dixon said he would support a public vote if a judge ruled in favor of it.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIf a judge says, \u2018You can have an election on this,\u2019 well, then let’s have it,\u201d Dixon said.<\/span><\/p>\n Ward 1 Councilmember<\/span> David Gandesbery<\/span> said\u00a0<\/span>he would feel better about making a decision if an outside counsel reviewed the situation.<\/span><\/p>\n Postponement of turnpike contracts<\/strong><\/p>\n The news:<\/strong> Council was set to vote on two contracts between the<\/span> Oklahoma Turnpike Authority<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>and the city of Norman, but the items were postponed until Tuesday due to weather concerns.<\/span><\/p>\n The first contract includes an agreement to relocate four water wells \u2014 two active and two inactive \u2014 and approximately 17,500 feet of water line between 48th Avenue Northwest and 24th Avenue Northwest, according to a<\/span> staff report<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n The second contract seeks to widen 36th Avenue, interconnect traffic signals between Tecumseh Road and Indian Hills Road, improve stormwater drainage and add sidewalks around the road, according to a<\/span> staff report<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n Norman residents attended the meeting wearing red in protest of the<\/span> Toby Keith Expressway<\/span><\/a> and the<\/span> South Extension Turnpike project<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n This story was edited by Audrey McClour.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Commenting policy: <\/b>We value civility and do not tolerate the spreading of misinformation or degrading posts on topics like race, religion or culture. We monitor our comment sections and will delete such when necessary.<\/p>\n